From “Türkleşmek İslamlaşmak Muasırlaşmak” to “Türkçülüğün Esasları” Ziya Gökalp and His Conception of Nation

On the eve of the Turkish Republic, Gökalp‟s main problem was how to save the Ottoman State. In his book entitled “Türkleşmek İslamlaşmak Muasırlaşmak” (1918), Gökalp is in search for ways to save the Ottoman State. After the Turkish Republic established in 1923 Gökalp‟s main problem, on the other hand, was to formulate the characteristics of the emerging new nation. In his book entitled “Türkçülüğün Esasları” (1923), Gökalp seeks to discuss and clarify these points. In this study, the “emphasis” will be on the differences in Gökalp‟s thought and ideas during these two periods. In this context, based on the two books mentioned above, the changes in Gökalp‟s ideas about Turkism, Islamism and civilization (Westernization), which are the three pillars of his conceptualization of nation, will be discussed and analyzed.